Traffic jams really are getting worse, study shows

It's not your imagination, your drive to just about anywhere in South Florida is getting longer.

The average commuter in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties spent 47 hours stuck in traffic in 2011, up from 46 hours in 2010, according to a new report by the Texas Transportation Institute. That's the equivalent of driving nonstop from Boca Raton to Portland, Ore.

In South Florida, a trip that typically should take 30 minutes when few cars are on the road often means planning for a trip that may take 1 hour and 48 minutes, based on a "planning time index" created by researchers. The index measures the amount of extra time needed to arrive on time, 19 out of 20 times, for high priority events like a family dinner, a meeting, a flight or a doctor's appointment.

The extra time is necessary to allow for the effects of unexpected crashes, bad weather and other irregular events that cause gridlock.

"We all understand that trips take longer in rush hour, but for really important appointments, we have to allow increasingly more time to ensure an on¿time arrival," said study co-author Bill Eisele said Monday. "As bad as traffic jams are, it's even more frustrating that you can't depend on traffic jams bing consistent from day¿to¿day.''

Researchers say congestion has started creeping back in some areas as the economy has rebounded. More people are back to work. Case in point: before the economic downturn, South Floridians logged 55 hours in traffic in 2005.

The extra commute wastes gas too: 93 million gallons in South Florida, or 25 per driver, according to the study.

And we're getting worse.

South Florida ranked 11th out of 498 metro areas. The year before we were 15th.

The region that spent the most time stuck in traffic was Washington, D.C., where drivers wasted 67 hours. Los Angeles, San Francisco¿Oakland, New York¿Newark, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle rounded out the Top 10 ahead of South Florida.

If nothing is done, the report says costs nationwide will balloon by 65 percent in 2020 and the number of hours of lost time will skyrocket 55 percent.

Eisele said the most effective way to address traffic congestion varies by city. But in all cases, he said a number of measures should be used: more efficient traffic management in the form of ramp signals and message signs that relay traffic information, to new construction and mass transit. Flexible work hours and allowing employees to work from home also should be part of the mix.

In South Florida, officials are trying to get ahead of the curve by giving drivers the option of paying a toll for a faster, more reliable commute, removing obstacles like toll booths and expanding message signs to arterial roads.

On Interstate 95, carpool lanes have been converted to express lanes that let drivers pay a toll for a generally less congested and faster trip. Construction is under way to extend the express lanes from the Golden Glades interchange to Broward Boulevard by 2014. I-595 is getting reversible express lanes and work will begin next year to add express lanes in the median of I-75 and on the Palmetto Expressway.

On Florida's Turnpike, chokepoints were eliminated on the stretch from Miramar to Florida City by removing the toll booths and replacing them with overhead gantries. Everyone now pays with SunPass or gets a bill in the mail.

Mass transit's impact can't be dismissed either. Without buses or trains, the study says the average South Florida commuter would spend four more hours per year in congestion.

Congress and the federal government should do more now to ensure roads and mass transit keep up with job growth, said Pete Ruane, president and CEO of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association

"While we may have to accept deadlocked politicians, there are ways to get Americans moving again," Ruane said.